True Sight
by hinatasgreatestfan
Summary: This is my series of NaruHina drabbles.  Not related to one another at all, and I'm just writing them when I get the urge.
1. New Clothes

It was time. Naruto had made his decision. He would see who truly accepted him for who he was. And who truly knew him for who he was for that matter. A couple months past now, he had bought a new outfit, and today was the day he was going to wear it for the first time.

Everyone knew him as the blond knucklehead who always wore an orange jumpsuit. That's what everyone thought of when they thought of him. But was it him they saw or just that ridiculous suit? He had decided to find out. That's why he bought this new outfit. He almost chuckled to himself as he slid into it. He would have laughed if he wasn't so nervous about how people would react to it.

Ten minutes later, he was outside, walking around the village. The first person he saw was the one he was most worried about, Sakura. He called out to her and she turned and saw him. Then her eyes shifted like she was looking for who had called her. He got right in front of her and she finally seemed to see him.

"Oh, Naruto! Sorry, I didn't see you," Sakura said. She looked him up and down. It was obvious she saw him differently like this than normal. He forced himself to keep smiling.

"It's okay, Sakura. I gotta get going." And with that, he took off. He fought hard to keep from crying. It was almost like Sakura didn't see him at all.

He had similar reactions all day. No one would see him until he was right in front of them. Kiba knew he was there because of his nose, but no one else seemed able to see him until he was immediately in front of them.

Finally, he only had one person left. It was someone he doubted would react any differently from anyone else, but he hoped against hope that she'd be different. Maybe someone would see him, recognize him. There she was. About a block away, just right for this.

"Hey, Hinata!" He called out. He saw her turn and look at him. He waited for her to start looking for him, but she didn't. Her eyes met with his immediately, and she started towards him.

"Hi, Naruto," she said. She was blushing prettily. "You look very handsome."

Naruto was surprised, but happy. "You think so?" She nodded. "You look very pretty yourself, Hinata." It was true. She was wearing a lavender body suit instead of her normal baggy jacket. Her curves pressed against it, not straining, but very defined. He saw this and how her eyes shone; he realized she really was beautiful. He smiled. And she had noticed him right away. So she saw him, not just his clothes. Maybe this day wasn't so horrible after all.

He reached out and took her hand gently. She gasped and blushed all the more. Naruto chuckled. "Well, Hinata, would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner tonight?"

Hinata was shocked, to say the least. Naruto was asking her on a date? This couldn't be, but it was! She looked at him and saw he was smiling. "I'd love to, Naruto!" She said immediately. Naruto smiled and the two headed off together, her hand still held in his.

As they walked off together, Naruto chuckled to himself again. He looked down at himself, then at the beautiful girl beside him. _"And all of this from a black trench-coat,"_ he thought to himself. He smiled. His little experiment may not have had the results he hoped for, but he was pleased with the results nonetheless.

Author Note: I don't know what made me think of this, but yeah. Hope you enjoyed it. And to make it clear, Naruto's "new outfit" was a black trench that covered him from neck to knee. And I know this was short, don't hate me for it. This will be the first in a series of drabbles. Hope you all enjoy them.


	2. A Gift

Author Note: Okay, yes, I know the scenes in this are almost identical to canon. It's the internal of Naruto that I think makes this worthwhile. And yes, I think this is what happened in canon. Sorry it's so short, and sorry I'm so close to canon, I just felt like I had to write this for some reason.

Clearly, I don't own Naruto. This is the only time I'm going to say that, simply because if I did, the two of them would have been together shortly after this event.

A Gift

Naruto looked down at his hands. Hinata had just handed him a small jar. He was utterly puzzled. "What's this?" He asked. It was the obvious question after all.

"It's a healing ointment," Kurenai, Hinata's sensei, was the one who responded to his question. Naruto was even more puzzled now. He had just beaten Hinata's teammate and here she was being kind to him, giving him an ointment to heal the wounds her teammate had inflicted. What was going on here? Unsure of what to say or do, he simply thanked the young girl and walked back to his teammates, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

Between his match and hers, Naruto couldn't seem to get his eyes away from Hinata. It was only a few seconds, yes, but he had noticed her blushing a little as she gave him the gift, and, while he was still there, the blush had stayed on her face. He was getting more and more puzzled. Naruto thought and thought, watching the blushing girl. Suddenly he noticed something. Before he could really think about it, though, Hinata's match was called.

Watching Neji and Hinata fight, Naruto found himself getting annoyed with Neji. The guy thought it was okay to put Hinata down, tell her she couldn't do what she wanted, that she was a failure. How dare he do that? Naruto sympathized with Hinata. He'd been told the same things his whole life, after all. That's why he yelled at Neji for her.

"Who gave you the right to tell her what she can or can't be? Go on, Hinata, show this guy he's wrong!" He yelled out. He didn't think about what he was saying. "Hinata! Are you just gonna stand there and take that? Do something, you're driving me crazy!" He was yelling at her now. He didn't think of what he was doing, but between Neji's words and Hinata's lack of action, he needed to do something or he was going to hurt someone.

Then it happened. Hinata looked at Neji with sudden confidence; from his position behind Neji, Naruto saw the change happen. She set her shoulders, fell into a fighting stance, and began her match. Naruto lost track of the match, lost in thought. He watched Hinata (her dream come true, though he had no idea of that of course) watched her every move, saw the determination she had, the will to keep going. He saw in her the same will he saw in himself, the will to never give up. He realized he was seeing a different side of Hinata at that moment.

Then she lost. He was stunned. Could it be that determination alone wasn't enough? He saw the ruthless way Neji pounded her into the ground, first mentally and then physically. He was enraged. So he went to her. He couldn't do anything, but he felt he had to go there. Then he saw Hinata's blood on the ground. He bent to it, touched it, feeling bonded to this girl in some way, and turned to Neji.

"I vow to win." That's all he said. It's all he needed to say. He didn't even know why he was so mad. This girl wasn't his teammate, he didn't really know her, and yet seeing this match and her determination had made him feel connected to her somehow. He had to avenge her. He would beat Neji. He had vowed it.

A Month Later

Naruto was nervous. He was to fight Neji today. He knew Neji was strong. He was strong, true, but not like Neji. Neji was a genius. He had seen it that day, when he watched the older boy beat Hinata. Almost kill her. So of course he was somewhat apprehensive about fighting Neji himself. That's why he found himself where he was now. He was at the training posts, where he had first become a Gennin. He couldn't seem to build up his confidence again. Then he heard something. It sounded like a squeak.

He looked up. He hadn't been watching where he was going. It was Hinata. What are the odds, huh? He chuckled to himself, but couldn't seem to find it in himself to do so vocally.

"So, why are you here? The final competition..." Hinata said, trailing off. He sighed to himself. How did she know what was on his mind? It was kind of weird, seeing as he knew so little of her.

"I just...it's nothing. I just came to check out this training field," he said, lying through his teeth. He didn't want her to know he was nervous. He cursed himself for his pride, but kept going anyway. "This is actually the place I became a Gennin, so..." he found himself trailing off, like Hinata.

"Oh, but...why are you here?" She asked. He noticed that for once she wasn't stuttering.

"Nothing, no real reason, it doesn't matter anyway," he said, still not wanting to admit why he was there.

"Oh," was all Hinata said at first. She sounded disappointed somehow. "Guess you're right. Sorry."

His first thought was to wonder what she was apologizing for, but he shrugged that off. Then he decided that she was just the one to ask. "Hinata, Neji...he's a cousin of yours right?" She gave an affirmative answer, and he continued. "So is he really strong?" She looked discouraged, which he took as a yes. "Great," he muttered, mostly to himself. Then he got a surprise.

"But, I mean, you may still be able to win, Naruto," Hinata spoke up.

"Yeah, I'm strong too after all," he laughed, but it was forced. After a moment, his laughing stopped and his face fell. Damn this insecurity! An awkward silence fell over them.

"I know you can win, Naruto. Remember that time, when you cheered for me? I felt like...like I was able to become stronger than ever before. When the preliminaries ended, I was finally able to like myself a little," Hinata's words were quiet, but she didn't stutter at all. "To anybody else, it might look like absolutely nothing's changed about me, but I feel different, like I'm a better person now, and I've been thinking, that it was all thanks to you, Naruto."

"Hinata, you really...do you really believe that's true?" Hinata's surprised gasp gave him the courage to go on. "I may look strong to you, but all I ever do is mess things up. I act tough because I'm so frustrated, but underneath it all, I just feel like I'm a huge failure."

"No, that's not true!" Hinata almost yelled. For her, that is; it was still relatively quiet, but it was louder and more sure than anything else he'd ever heard her say. "Even when you messed up, you were always uh, um, how can I say this? A proud failure, from my point of view. When I look at you, you just fill me with such, such admiration. I'm not saying that you're perfect. I mean, no one is. But when you do make a mistake, you have the guts to pick yourself up and keep trying. I think that courage, to keep going no matter what, is what real strength is. I just think you're an incredibly strong person, Naruto."

Naruto was stunned. He had never heard Hinata say so much at once. Hell, he'd never heard her say so much before, period. "Thanks, Hinata, I needed that," he said. It was true. He felt better after listening to her. "Even though I'm completely used to being the underdog, I guess this time I was really feeling the strain. I was really down, which isn't like me at all. But I feel 100% better now."

"I'm glad you do," Hinata said.

"All right, I'm off to the match, thanks again." He started to walk away when suddenly he realized something. During that short speech, he had been watching Hinata. Very closely. And he had actually seen her. He thought about the times he'd seen her before. She had always seemed shy, quiet, kind of weird, a little on the dark side maybe, like she was depressed or something. But this time, it was different. He had seen that she was really kind and caring. He thought about it as he was walking away, and he realized that this was the first time he had really SEEN Hinata. Not just her shy exterior, but the person behind it. He stopped, deciding he should tell her what he had just realized. He thought a moment. "Hinata?" He waited until she was looking at him. "I kinda thought you were, um, gloomy, timid, always terrified, and basically completely weird." He saw her hurt look; he turned away before finishing his statement. "But you know what? I actually like people like you." With that he took off because he realized he had to hurry to get there in time. He realized, even then, that he had, for the first time, actually seen Hinata. When he thought about it, he realized she had been watching him for a long time. He didn't have time to think about it, though, so he put the thought from his mind and ran to the arena. If only he had more time to think about that...

Author Note: I hope you guys don't hate me for being so close to canon. I just had to get this idea out there for some reason, I'm not sure why. And as for the whole "Naruto confused about Hinata" thing, I fully believe that was going on in canon at that time, and if Naruto had had time to really think about it (which he didn't; she had her match the first time, then he had to hurry to fight Neji the other) he might have been closer friends with her earlier.


	3. Open Your Eyes

Open Your Eyes

Hinata found herself, as usual, watching Naruto. It had been several years now since she started watching him. She had finally, about a month ago, confessed her love to him. He hadn't said anything to her about it as yet, so it was only natural for her to go back to watching him when he was around. She had been working hard, treating the injured and so on, but any free time she had when he was there, she was watching him in some form or another. So it was that she found herself here, watching him, yet again. Little did she know that today she was going to get a hell of a shock.

Naruto was sitting in the middle of a training ground, namely the one where he became a Gennin all those years ago. True, there had only been four years since then, but it felt like so many years more. He chuckled to himself as he thought about how much had changed, how much had happened since then. As he was walking to the training ground today, he'd gotten a small cut on his wrist, probably a branch or something. He hadn't been paying much attention, really. Regardless of the cause, he knew the solution. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brown jar. He opened the jar and rubbed a small amount of the salve from the jar onto his wrist. As he did, he smiled as he remembered where he got it.

Flashback

_Naruto was looking down in his hands at the small brown jar. He'd just been told it contained a healing ointment. This was Naruto's first real gift. And who gave it to him? The shy Hyuga, Hinata, that's who. After beating the living hell out of her teammate, Hinata had called Naruto's name, loudly for her, and given him this._

Flashback End

Naruto smiled and chuckled a little as he thought back on that day. He set the jar to his side, having absolutely no idea that he was being watched by his long-ago benefactor.

Hinata, while watching Naruto, heard him chuckle and wondered what he was thinking about. She had seen him rummaging around in his pockets a few moments before. Then he reached to his side and set something down. As his hand withdrew, Hinata saw what he had put down. She gasped. The jar! It was the jar of ointment she had given him over three years before after his match with Kiba during their first Chuunin Exams. He still had that? She couldn't believe it. Needless to say, she blushed so red that the ripest tomatoes would turn green with envy. At that time, Hinata realized she was seeing a whole new side of her long-time crush. She had come to realize over the years Naruto didn't have very many true friends, but to have kept the jar all this time? That gift must have meant a lot to him if he kept it all that time. She wasn't so delusional as to believe it had anything to do with it coming from her, but she did realize it must have been a rarity for anyone to give him a gift. She felt herself admiring him all the more for his determination and his positive attitude through such hard times.

Naruto was oblivious of Hinata's observation and her thoughts of him surrounding the small jar, but he himself was thinking back to all the times he had been around Hinata in the past, starting with the Chuunin exams, then the Bikochu search, then their adventures with a certain bounty hunter, their treasure hunt test, and more recently, when she had protected him from Pein. That day...

Flashback

_Naruto was pinned down, his arms, sides, and legs all pinned to the ground by Pein's chakra rods. Naruto felt the chakra flowing into him. It hurt. The pain was intense. The man himself was standing there in front of him, staring down at him. Naruto snarled at the man, his anger obvious in spite of the pain. Pein came closer, preparing to kill Naruto. Just before he could do it, a blast occurred in front of him._

_Naruto looked up from where he was and got a hell of a shock. Standing there, in front of him, was, of all people, Hinata Hyuga. Had he not been laying on the ground, his jaw would have been. He yelled at her and tried to tell her to get out of there, that she was no match for this enemy. Her answer stunned him._

"_I'm not afraid to die, if it means I can protect you, Naruto. Because I love you, Naruto," she said._

_Naruto was almost glad he was laying on the ground when she said that. He was sure, if he hadn't been that low, his jaw would likely have been dislocated from dropping too far too fast. Hinata then attacked Pein and broke several of the chakra rods pinning Naruto down. Pein knocked her to the ground and impaled her on a rod._

Flashback End

Naruto knew after that he used a lot of Kyuubi's chakra and ended up sprouting eight tails, but he didn't remember anything after that really. The last thing he remembered was the pain, shock, fear, and anger of seeing Hinata killed. He thought she had died for him right then and there. Of course, he was wrong, thankfully, but still, the pain of that had cut him deeply.

As he thought back to that day, Naruto realized that he had finally truly seen Hinata that day. She had confessed her feelings for him, she had put her life on the line for him, which he had assumed no one would ever do, and, what's more, she had done so willingly. So, that was the true Hinata, eh? Not only was she strong, she was kind and would give herself for another. He had only seen that trait in a very few others, himself being one of them. He knew he would gladly give his own life for anyone in the village. It was as he was thinking these things that Naruto heard a small gasp.

Naruto got up and turned around. He walked to where he'd heard the sound and peeked around the tree. There was Hinata. He looked her up and down, taking in every detail of this beautiful (where the hell did that come from?) woman who had willingly put her life on the line for him. He smiled down at her (he was slightly taller than her after all) and realized that, for probably the very first time, he was seeing Hinata as she truly was. And, what's more, he liked what he saw.

Hinata blushed bright red as Naruto looked at her. She was surprised he was looking at her like that. He seemed to be devouring her with his eyes. How she didn't faint, she'd never know, much less how she kept eye contact, but somehow she did it. She'd already had one shock today, what with the jar, and now this. She could tell he liked what he saw, it was obvious in his eyes. She blushed deeper still, thinking that finally, he was looking at her the way she'd always wished he would. She saw his arms coming out...she stepped into them, and the two embraced, and both knew happiness for the first time in a very very long time.


	4. Naruto's Depth

Author Note: If you read my previous drabble, A Gift, this is the same scene, just from Hinata's perspective. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner, but here it is. Enjoy.

Naruto's Depth

Hinata sighed for what must be the hundredth time in the last five minutes. She was standing by the training stumps where she knew Naruto had become a Gennin. She had finished her test and searched around the village until she found him; what she saw would never leave her memory: she saw Naruto tied to a stump, his team getting scolded by Kakashi. She stood back and watched as, eventually, Sakura fed Naruto. Then she saw the team getting told they passed. She watched as the others left Naruto, and she sneaked over and untied him; no one ever knew it was her, not even Naruto.

She sighed again. She was only here to relive all the old memories she had of Naruto; she wished deeply to be with him instead of here by herself, but, alas, that was not to be. She knew he would never notice her, never acknowledge her. She just knew it. She thought she heard something, soft steps coming toward her, but she ignored it. She was too lost in her thoughts.

Then she heard it. "Hinata?" She knew that voice. She'd know it anywhere. She gasped, turning quickly and pressing herself against the stump she had been looking at moments before. She was right, it was Naruto!

"Oh! N-Naruto!" she said, surprised. She could tell just by looking at him that something was on his mind. "So, why are you here? The final competition..." she trailed off, not sure what to say.

"I just...It's nothing," Naruto said. "I came to check out this training field. This is actually the place I became a Gennin, so..." he trailed off as well; Hinata wondered why.

"Oh, but, why are you here?" she asked him, shocked that for once she was able to talk to Naruto and not stutter. She chalked it up to her being worried about him.

"Nothing, no real reason. It doesn't matter anyway," he said back.

"Oh," she said. She was disappointed; she'd been so close to finding out what was on his mind. But instead, she'd just alienated him. "Guess you're right, sorry."

It took a moment for Naruto to speak again. "Hinata, Neji...He's a cousin of yours, right?" he asked her.

Hinata, shocked that Naruto was still talking to her, muttered softly, "Yeah."

"So, is he really strong?" he asked. Hinata felt her face falling. She wished deeply she could tell him he wasn't; she could tell Naruto was worried, and she wanted dearly to assuage his fears, but she couldn't. He obviously took her reaction as a yes. "Great," he muttered, so low Hinata barely heard him.

She had to do something. She couldn't stand to see Naruto like this. It was just wrong. "But, I mean, you may still be able to win, Naruto," she said.

"Yeah, I'm strong too, after all," he said, then laughed, but Hinata could easily tell it was forced. What in the world was wrong with him?

After a few moments of awkward silence, Hinata knew she had to say something to encourage her crush; she just HAD to do something. "I know you can win, Naruto. Remember that time, when you cheered for me? I felt like...like I was able to become stronger than ever before. When the preliminaries ended, I was finally able to like myself a little," she finally said, quietly, but without stuttering at all. "To anybody else, it might look like absolutely nothing's changed about me, but I feel different, like I'm a better person now, and I've been thinking, that it was all thanks to you, Naruto." She had been thinking about that, among other things, when he approached her, so she wasn't lying really.

"Hinata, you really...do you really believe that's true?" Hinata looked up and gasped, surprised at his words. He went on, "I may look strong to you, but all I ever do is mess things up. I act tough because I'm so frustrated, but underneath it all, I just feel like I'm a huge failure."

Oh, now Hinata was NOT going to stand for this, no way in HELL was she just going to stand here and let this boy she cared so much for belittle himself like that. "No, that's not true!" Hinata said, her voice desperate. Naruto looked up in surprise at her tone, and Hinata knew she had finally gotten what she'd wanted for so long: his attention. She couldn't stop now. So she continued, "Even when you messed up, you were always, uh, um, how can I say this? A proud failure, from my point of view. When I look at you, you just fill me with such, such admiration. I'm not saying that you're perfect. I mean, no one is. But when you do make a mistake, you have the guts to pick yourself up and keep trying. I think that courage, to keep going no matter what, is what real strength is. I just think you're an incredibly strong person, Naruto." That said, Hinata suddenly felt very shy and slowly slid behind the stump, where she could only see Naruto with one eye.

"Thanks, Hinata, I needed that," he said. Hinata could tell he meant it. "Even though I'm completely used to being the underdog, I guess this time I was really feeling the strain. I was really down, which isn't like me at all. But I feel a hundred percent better now."

"I'm glad you do," she said, sincerely. She felt her heart swell as she realized she'd helped him, finally.

"All right, I'm off to the match, thanks again," he said. He started to walk away. Then he stopped and started talking again. "Hinata?" he said. She looked up, waiting to hear what he would say. "I kinda thought you were," he paused. Hinata hung on his every word, anxious to hear what he would say. "Gloomy, timid, always terrified, and basically completely weird," he finished. Wow, that hurt. That really hurt. He thought she was weird? Well, she couldn't really deny the way she acted around him probably did seem that way, but still, it hurt that he saw her that way. But he wasn't done, and his next words shocked her. "But you know what? I actually like people like you," he said. Hinata was stunned. She kept hearing his last words over and over. "I like people like you," she kept hearing him say that. She was so distracted by that she was aware he had said something else, but she didn't hear what he'd said.

"_He likes people like me? What's that mean? Does he like me?"_ she wondered. Then she realized something. She had talked to Naruto, he had talked to her, he had said she'd helped him, and, more importantly, he had acknowledged her and said he even liked people like her! She was so stunned, she didn't even react when Kiba approached and started talking to her. For the first time, she felt like her dream of being with Naruto just might come true. She sighed, but this time it was a blissful one. What a day! As she was thinking about that, she realized something else.

Today, listening and talking to Naruto, she had seen a side of him she'd never once been aware of before. She had always seen him as determined, hopeful, proud. Today, she had seen that there was a depth to him she'd never fathomed before. She sighed again, realizing that this depth just made him that much more dear to her heart. She gasped then, realizing something. She had always liked Naruto before, but now it was more than that. If asked now, she would have to say that she truly loved Naruto. She knew right then and there she would never forget this day. It was the day she had fallen in love with Naruto.


	5. Unspoken Words

Unspoken Words

Naruto forced a smile onto his face as he walked the streets of Konoha. He didn't want anyone to know, but he was thinking very deeply about two of his friends in the Rookie Nine. Both had recently told him they loved him. The first was not only the first one to ever tell him that, but was the absolute last one he ever expected to hear tell him that. The second was the one person he'd always thought he wanted to hear speak those words, but now...he wasn't sure anymore. It didn't help that even when she was telling him she loved him, she kept talking about..._him_.

The first person to tell him she loved him, Hinata...every word she said was about Naruto himself. She talked about all the things he'd done for her, all the ways he'd changed her, made her better, on and on, then said she loved him. Naruto almost cried at the sincerity not only in her voice but her eyes. He just knew she meant every word she said with every fiber of her being, he just _knew_ it. His heart beat faster even now, months later, as he thought of how she had sounded, how her words had resonated as she spoke, how she sounded almost relieved to finally get her confession off her chest, so that he would know...in case she didn't make it. The thought of losing her, of her having died when she fought against Pein, made his heart wrench and made him feel almost sick. The thought that she was willing to die to protect HIM...he still couldn't quite make that particular bit of information make sense.

The second confession he'd received had come from Sakura while he was in the Land of Iron. The thought of that confession still made him shudder. He'd always dreamed one day she would say those words, but when she finally did...it simply made him feel ill. She kept talking about how she was wrong to love Sasuke and how she should have seen Naruto all along, etc. etc. Somehow, Naruto just couldn't believe her. Her words...especially after hearing Hinata's heart-felt confession, felt empty, hollow. Naruto shuddered again at how insincere Sakura had sounded. Her actions since...didn't really help her case, to say the least. Naruto shuddered, remembering the things Sakura had done. He shook his head to clear it; he didn't need to be thinking about that.

Thinking about these two confessions, Naruto couldn't help but realize that since them, and especially since Sakura's, his view of the two young women had changed drastically. He'd never really thought of Hinata as much more than simply a shy girl who was a very good friend and who fought with all her heart for the things she found important. Since her confession, so many things he knew about her, her shyness around him, her willingness to fight for him, her determination when he cheered her on, made so much more sense to him now. She loved him, so of course she fought harder when he cheered for her, of course she was shy around him...it was simple logic now. He sighed. If only he could simply make himself feel the same...things would be perfect.

Sakura...he chuckled ruefully at himself as he thought of the pink-haired girl. He felt sure deep down some part of him would always love her, but, of late, his feelings for Sakura had become more like those of a brother for his sister than any romantic feelings. And then to have her simply lie to his face...he stopped in his tracks at that thought. Yes, she had lied to his face, hadn't she? She tried to tell him she loved him and not Sasuke, but he could still see her eyes brighten at the mention of their old teammate. It was so obvious she still loved Sasuke, even to Naruto, that it was simply painful. And to think Sakura would blatantly lie like that...he shivered as a slight chill ran up his spine as he realized he could no longer trust his teammate.

Naruto growled in frustration at that thought, then turned quickly when he heard a familiar gasp from behind him. There, not far behind him and staring at him with a hurt look on her face, was Hinata. "Oh, hey, Hinata, sorry. Did I scare you?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, not at all, Naruto," she answered, a slight smile on her face. "I was just surprised, that's all."

Naruto smiled back, then his face fell a moment. "Hey, Hinata?" Hinata looked worried at the tone of his voice, but nodded for him to continue. "Do you have a little while? I'd like to talk to someone..." he trailed off.

Hinata came forward and rested a hand on Naruto's arm, wondering to herself where she got the nerve to do something like that. "I would be honored, Naruto," she said softly. Naruto smiled, and the two walked off together; when Naruto didn't object to her hand being on his arm as they began walking, Hinata left it there. Hinata blushed fiercely when she realized a casual observer would believe the two were walking arm-in-arm, but she smiled at the thought as well; her smile was a little bitter as she wished the misconception was actually true.

Naruto noticed Hinata's smile looked different from her normal one. "You all right, Hinata?" he asked her. Blushing at having been caught, Hinata nodded. Naruto sighed, realizing he'd embarrassed the shy girl. "Come on." Naruto leading, the two made their way to the training stumps where Naruto first made Genin those years ago. Somehow, it felt right to both of them to go there. Stopping and turning to Hinata, Naruto gave her a small, but heartfelt, smile. Hinata blushed as she looked at him, but she couldn't help returning the smile.

"What's on your mind, Naruto?" Hinata asked after a few moments of silence. It wasn't that she minded being quiet, but she had wanted to know what was going on with her crush; after all, that's why she followed him out there.

Naruto chuckled. "I was actually thinking about you...and Sakura," he said. Hinata looked a little downtrodden as he said that. Naruto spoke again quickly to try to bring back her smile. "I was remembering...when you stepped in when I fought Pein. You...Hinata, you saved my life...and I never thanked you for that."

"You don't need to thank me, Naruto," she said back, blushing furiously as she felt his whole attention focused on her. "Like I told you then, I was there, doing that, because I wanted to be there. I meant every word I said, Naruto," she stopped, blushing, as she remembered what exactly she'd said that day.

Naruto smiled. "That's what I was thinking about, actually, is how I knew you meant what you told me that day...and how I knew when Sakura...told me the same thing...she didn't mean it," he said, his smile slipping a little as the hurt of being lied to like that came back.

Hinata gasped. _"So _that's_ what Sakura meant when she said she'd take care of it, huh? She'd tell him she loved him so he'd stop going after Sasuke? Obviously she never knew him at all,"_ she thought to herself. Her face hardened a bit, then she looked toward Naruto and her face softened; obviously, he was hurt that she lied, but there was something more he wanted to say, she could see that.

Naruto sighed, then smiled at Hinata. "Hinata, the thing is, when you said what you did that day...my view of you changed somehow. I always just thought of you as a very shy girl who was a very good, close friend, but after you said that..." he trailed off. "I guess it made me realize you were more than just a shy girl...I mean, I always knew you were an awesome ninja, but when you said that...I don't know, just somehow you seemed different after that."

Hinata had been hanging on his every word. "Naruto...what is it you're trying to say?" she asked him.

"Well, it's just...it's been a long time since I had any romantic feelings for Sakura, but I can't make how I feel about you change..." he trailed off, thinking. "That came out a little wrong. What I mean is I can't force it...but maybe...in time...maybe the way I feel for you could change?" Naruto wasn't sure who he was asking, really, but it came out as a question.

Hinata gasped, her eyes wide as dinner plates. Was he saying...that he wanted to try...with her? That he wanted to see if his feelings might change? Hinata reached out and rested a hand on his arm. "Naruto...please, don't tease me...what is it you're trying to say?" she asked, her eyes pleading.

Naruto blushed at the intensity of her gaze. "I'm saying...I'd like to get to know you better...and see if maybe someday...I might be able to love you, too," he said, his eyes filled with worry and hope.

Hinata gasped and blushed. "Naruto...are you...asking me out?" she asked him, her voice almost coy. Naruto thought about that.

"Yeah...I guess I am," he said back. The next moment was one the two would always remember as one of the most pleasant surprises of their lives. Hinata launched herself at Naruto and hugged him tightly, surprising the blond. To Hinata's surprise, Naruto caught her and held her close. Naruto never really asked the question, and Hinata never really answered it. They didn't need to. The words were unspoken, but both knew the answer.

Author Note: And there's another drabble done. I know this one didn't fit my theme quite so well, but I needed to get over a bad case of writer's block, and I think this did it, so I hope you enjoyed. New chapter of Honest Curse should be out within a week or so, but don't hold me to that, I can't promise anything.


	6. A Glimpse

A Glimpse

Naruto took a deep breath and kicked at a stone in his path. There were only three days left before the Chunin Exam Finals, and he was going to fight Neji. To put it lightly, he was terrified of fighting Neji, especially after the beating Hinata took at the hands of the elder Hyuga. _"Hinata,"_ he thought. _"Why didn't you give up? Why did you keep fighting?"_ Then he realized why she had done it. She had done it because _he_ had yelled at her to not give up. She had gotten hurt because of _him_!

"Ugh! I should have just kept my mouth shut!" he yelled at himself, not caring when people gave him weird looks. If only he hadn't said anything, or better yet, if only he hadn't been there at all! Suddenly he stopped walking. "Yeah...everyone would be better off if I just left," he said to himself. "Fine, then that's what I'll do, I'll just go. Right now."

"Are you sure that's wise?" a voice asked from behind Naruto. The blond turned and looked up at the source of the voice. A tall man with spiky white hair stood there. He looked vaguely familiar to Naruto, but he wasn't sure why.

"What do you mean, old man?" Naruto asked. "Is it wise of me to leave? Hinata wouldn't have been hurt if I wasn't there! She wouldn't be in the hospital if it wasn't for me!" Something told Naruto he should be more respectful of this man, but he was too annoyed to care just then.

"All right, Naruto, you think the village would be better off without you?" the man asked, giving the young blond a small smile. Naruto simply nodded. "All right then, let's see if you're right about that, shall we?"

"What do you mean, old man?" Naruto asked, a skeptical look on his face.

The white-haired man chuckled. "Come with me, I'll show you the future of this village if you leave now," he said. With that, he turned and walked away. Naruto, skeptical and a little hesitant, followed the man.

Naruto had taken less than ten steps when everything around him faded and he was looking at a totally new landscape. "This is the first thing that will happen differently if you leave, Naruto," the white-haired man's voice sounded from everywhere, though Naruto could no longer see the man himself. He looked around himself and realized he was in the forest around the Leaf Village. That Gaara guy from the Sand Village had Sakura pinned to a tree with sand and was crushing her to death while Sasuke was laying on a branch nearby, unconscious.

Naruto cursed his helplessness as he watched Sakura be crushed to death. He thought Gaara would turn on Sasuke then, but he didn't, instead he morphed into some kind of huge sand beast. After a second, Naruto identified it as a tanuki. Then he watched in horror as Gaara put himself to sleep.

The next hour was extremely hectic and confusing for Naruto as he was forced to watch as his entire village fell victim to the attacks of the sand spirit Shukaku.

One attack from the beast hit the Chunin Exam Arena (Naruto breathed a sigh of relief when he remembered Hinata wasn't there but in the hospital), one hit the Hyuga Compound, and a third hit the Inuzuka Compound. A giant snake fought against one of Jiraiya's toads and slowly overtook the large toad, then turned and began attacking the Aburame Compound. Naruto could only watch in terror as a giant snake and a giant sand tanuki decimated his precious village. He caught a brief glimpse of what looked like that bastard Orochimaru fleeing into the woods, his arms limp, before his focus was again on the village. Soon, the Leaf Ninja were retreating, and the destruction of Konoha was complete.

Naruto watched in shock as the remaining Leaf Ninja gathered in the middle of the smoking crater that used to be the village. There were less than ten. Kakashi, Ino, Choji, Asuma, and Kiba were the only ones Naruto recognized. Kakashi and Asuma exchanged grim looks, then the five simply walked away into the forest together; they would spend the rest of their lives as wandering ninja. Naruto got brief images of Asuma and Kakashi dying at the hands of men in black cloaks with red clouds.

Tears were streaming from Naruto's eyes by now. There were only two whose fates he felt he needed to know. "What about Sasuke? What about Hinata? What happened to them?" he asked no one in particular, hoping the white-haired man would hear.

"You're not going to like this," the man's voice responded, coming from everywhere again. Naruto watched as everything around him faded again. This time, when an image came into focus, it was of a dark cell. Contained within said cell was Hinata. She was crying.

"Oh, Naruto, why did you have to leave?" Hinata asked, her voice broken. "Why did you have to leave us, me, all alone? Why, Naruto, why?" She looked around, tears falling freely from her eyes. She gave a short, sad laugh. "I guess I understand. I was never good enough for anyone, so why would I have been good enough for you?" She took a deep breath. "Still, if only you'd been there, I would have made you happy, Naruto, I swear! But you had to leave, and now look at me. Everyone else is dead, and I'm here." Somehow, the girl, who looked to be about fifteen in this image, seemed far more bitter about being where she was than about everyone else being dead.

Then Naruto saw something that made his blood run cold. Orochimaru walked into the room. As he looked over Hinata, Naruto saw his eyes. They were red and each one had three black tomoes in it! The Sharingan! "So _that's_ what he wanted with Sasuke, huh?" Naruto said to himself, his voice quiet but full of anger.

Naruto shuddered when he noticed the lecherous look on the Snake Sannin's face. "This is your last chance before I have to switch bodies again, Hyuga," he said. Hinata shivered, fear and dread apparent on her face.

The sight Naruto witnessed for the next hour is too horrific to be repeated. However, the end result of it was a naked, bruised, crying Hinata who now had far less hair than she had before the snake summoner entered, and an Orochimaru who looked _far_ too self-satisfied for Naruto's liking. Naruto curled up in a ball and tried to close his eyes, but he didn't close them quite soon enough. They were open long enough for him to see Orochimaru in Sasuke's body killing Pervy Sage. "NO! NO MORE!" Naruto yelled, eyes squeezed tightly shut. "I can't take anymore!"

Opening his eyes, he found himself standing on the road where he'd first seen the white-haired man. The man was standing before him again. "That is what will happen if you leave, Naruto," the man said. "If you stay, while you won't be able to prevent all of those things, some of them you will."

Naruto clenched his fists tight and looked up at the Hokage mountain and then to the hospital. He looked at the white-haired man. "Hinata...she loves me, doesn't she?" he asked. The man nodded. "Then I will at least prevent what happened to her, that is my promise of a lifetime!" The man smiled and nodded again before turning and vanishing into the crowd. "Thank you, old man, whoever you were," Naruto said after he was gone. Moments later, Naruto was moving as quickly as he could through the streets. He had to see Hinata, to make sure she was okay.

Entering the hospital, Naruto did a little sneaking and figured out where Hinata was. Then he slipped into her room. It was late, visiting hours were over long ago, but he had to see her and he had to see her _now_!

There she was, laying in her hospital bed, seemingly asleep. Naruto smiled at her. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. Her short hair was ringing her head almost like a halo, and Naruto couldn't help thinking that it fit her somehow. He moved quietly and cautiously reached out and cupped her cheek with one hand.

Hinata opened her eyes and looked up at Naruto. She blushed at the look on his face. "Naruto?" she asked, thinking this must be a dream. There was no way he'd be in her hospital room, especially not so late at night.

Naruto smiled and nodded. "It's me, Hinata, and no, this isn't a dream, I'm really here," he said. Hinata blushed at that, wondering how Naruto had read her mind. "I know it's late, but I just had to see you."

Hinata blushed even deeper at the ferocity of his voice. It almost sounded like his life depended on his ability to see her. "Why did you have to see _me_, Naruto?" she asked. "It's not like I'm anything special."

"Don't say things like that, Hinata!" Naruto said, his voice both caring and scolding. "You are very special, and you're just like me, I realize that now. We both just want acceptance, and from now on, you'll never have to look for it any further than me."

Hinata blushed. "What's gotten into you, Naruto?" she asked. Not that she was complaining, this was amazing, but he'd never acted like this before.

"Oh, nothing really, just realized a few things," he answered. "One thing I realized is that I have a lot of things in my life that are worth fighting for, and a lot of people, too. And Hinata, I realized that one of the ones who's the most worth fighting for...is you."

Hinata gasped. "Oh, Naruto," she said. "Do you really mean that?"

Naruto just nodded, and within moments the two young ninja were wrapped in one another's arms, both crying their eyes out from a combination of relief, fear, apprehension, hope, and realized dreams. Naruto had a sudden flash of Hinata as she'd been in that future and held onto her tighter, swearing to himself he'd never let her go. Hinata felt the squeeze and simply snuggled into the embrace. Both of them felt more at peace, more whole, and more at home in that single moment than they ever had in their lives. Naruto gave a small smile.

"_I guess it's true what they say,"_ he thought to himself. _"Sometimes you have to see hell to appreciate heaven."_


	7. What I Really Wanted

What I Really Wanted

Naruto

Naruto sighed deeply and set down the pen he had been grasping for the last several hours. He was sitting at the Hokage's desk, dressed in the long decorative robe and the oddly-shaped hat of the position...and he had spent the last month and a half since he was appointed Hokage doing one thing: paperwork! _"I guess it's true...dreams are great in theory, but not so great in practice,"_ he thought to himself, chuckling ruefully.

Leaning back in his chair, the blond looked up at the ceiling. It was true, he'd achieved his dream of so many years, he was Hokage, and he and everyone in the village knew he had earned it. The strange thing was, even though everyone in the village respected and acknowledged him now, he still felt...empty somehow. He yearned for something...more. Rising from his seat, he made his way out of his office and up to the roof of the building, where he observed the Hokage Monument. Work was already beginning on the huge stone version of his own face. He had to chuckle as he remembered the time he'd vandalized the mountain, all those years ago. Now, he looked upon the faces of three distant relatives and...his father with pride.

Naruto smiled as he thought of his father. He had never known the man, but he knew now who he was and that he was a great man. Since Naruto had discovered that the Fourth Hokage was his father, he had been collecting stories of him. He had spoken with Kakashi, who had nothing but praise for his old sensei. He had spoken with Tsunade, who had seemed almost enamored with the man; that was really saying a lot, since Naruto knew Tsunade had only ever had one lover, some years back. Naruto wished fervently he could talk to Jiraiya...he knew the old pervert would likely have a lot of stories about his father that no one else knew about. Sighing again, he shook his head, trying not to cry at the thought of his old sensei. _"Would you be proud of me, Pervy Sage?"_ he thought to himself.

As Naruto thought of his father, it was only natural his thoughts would turn to his mother. He remembered the one time he'd seen her, in the seal. Her long, beautiful red hair, her eyes that sparkled with mischief, her strong arms around him as she'd hugged him tight...he remembered them all. Sighing and shaking his head, Naruto remembered his mother's one bit of advice about love. "Find someone like me," she had said.

With that in mind, Naruto had begun to ask anyone who knew his parents, whether they knew he was their kid or not, asking how the two had first met. He was able to find out that his father had crushed on his mother for a long time but was too shy around her to tell her. One older lady in particular, their teacher when they were in the Academy together, it turned out, told him that Minato had blushed furiously while looking at Kushina and could hardly put together a coherent sentence when in her presence. Kushina, it seemed, was a huge prankster whose fiery red hair was only outshone by her fiery personality. Apparently Minato, who was a spirited kid normally, became quiet and shy when Kushina was around. "It was so cute, watching them," the teacher had said. "I always hoped those two would end up together...it was a match made in heaven. It really is too bad, what happened to them."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully. He'd originally thought his mother meant to find someone whose personality resembled her own. Now that he'd heard these stories, he realized that didn't make sense; someone like that would only make his life far too hectic and confusing. Then he remembered, her exact words had been to find someone "like me"...by which he now realized she meant to find someone in the way that she had found his father! As he pondered this, he couldn't help thinking back to his Academy days.

When in the Academy, Naruto was a pretty major prankster. He'd been desperate for attention, for acknowledgement, for even one person to just _look_ at him. Over time, he had gained a few friends. Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru would occasionally skip class with him. He had a huge crush on Sakura, but he couldn't really call her a friend. Ino...was just there in his mind, really. He hardly knew Shino, and Sasuke just drove him crazy. At the time, he'd never really noticed Hinata that much, though he did know who she was, but now...in hindsight, he realized that she had been...just like his father used to be with his mother. She blushed, she fidgeted, she had trouble talking to him...she was...crushing on him! Sighing deeply, Naruto realized he'd been too much of a knucklehead to realize what was right in front of him. He really didn't blame himself, but, now that he knew...there was really only one thing to do.

Thinking for one more second, he realized that he now knew what he'd been longing for and missing for some time now, and what he now had in mind would get him that very thing. Grinning widely, he moved. He had to find Hinata. It was high time he took his mother's advice.

Hinata

Hinata breathed slowly, deeply, as she sparred with Neji. The Hyuga prodigy had been training with her for over an hour now, and both of them were sweaty and breathing hard. Neji smiled at his cousin. "You have done well, Hinata," he said proudly. Hinata smiled up at him. Neji dropped out of his ready stance and deactivated his Byakugan. Hinata did the same, and the two cousins made their way out of the training arena. Sitting down along its edge, they sipped the cups of tea that were waiting for them there. Neji chuckled. "It seems your sister has improved as well," he commented ruefully.

Hinata giggled slightly as she sipped her own tea. "Yes, it would seem so," she said back. The two remembered the first time Hanabi had prepared tea for them. To put it lightly, the result had been disastrous. "Thank you for training with me, Neji."

Neji waved her off. "We both benefit from this training, Hinata," he told her. "You have been pushing me to my limits and beyond for quite some time now. I may be a Jonin to your Chunin, but I am in no other way your superior." He said the last part of this with a proud smile. Both of them knew that it was only because of Neji's training that his statement was true.

Hinata had just finished off her tea and rose to move back to the training area when both she and Neji got a shock. From Neji's perspective, something landed beside Hinata, and, an instant later, both it and Hinata were gone. He would have raised the alarm had he not noticed the bright blond hair atop the figure's head. As it was, he simply chuckled. "About time, Naruto," he said to himself.

Hinata tensed as a figure appeared beside her, seemingly from nowhere. When it wrapped an arm around her, she thought to struggle for an instant. When it whisked her away from the Hyuga compound, she prepared to attack it. When she realized it was Naruto, she blushed furiously and did her best to relax in his grasp.

Naruto ran with Hinata in his arms all the way out of the village gates. When he was sure they were alone, he made his way to a small clearing and deposited the blushing Hyuga on her feet. Turning to her with a bright smile, he said simply, "Hi, Hinata."

Hinata giggled. "Hi, Naruto," she said back. She looked around the clearing where they were standing. It was a quiet, peaceful patch of grass bathed in the sun in the midst of the forest. She gave the blond a small smile. "It's beautiful here, but what's going on? Why did you bring me out here?"

Naruto spent the following few minutes relating to Hinata the train of thought that had led him to her. "I realized," he told her, "I've been feeling down lately because I'm alone. I mean, I know everyone respects me now, but there's no one at home when I get there, it's just me...I'm all alone." He stopped and took a deep breath. Hinata blushed; could he be saying what she thought he was? Naruto continued, "When I thought about all the times I'd missed what was right in front of me, I felt like such a fool. I can't believe you've waited all this time for me to realize how you feel. I'm sorry, Hinata."

Hinata shook her head. "It's not your fault, Naruto," she said back. "I didn't tell you...so how could I expect you to know?"

Naruto smiled ruefully. "Well, now I do know," he told her. "And it seems even my mother approves of you...her advice led me to you, after all." Hinata blushed and giggled slightly at his words. Then Naruto did something that she never expected him to do...at least, not to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, looking into her eyes. "Hinata," he began, his voice low, intense. "I'm sorry for not noticing you sooner, but, now that I have, and now that I really get what you were trying to tell me back when Pein invaded, I'm asking you. Will you be with me? Will you make my lonely house into a real home and be there when I get home every day? Will you, Hinata Hyuga, be my girlfriend?"

Hinata giggled; his voice had been so intense, for a second there she'd half expected him to ask her to marry him! "Of course I will, Naruto," she said with a smile.

Naruto smiled in response, then reached up and brushed her hair away from her face, tucking the strands behind her ear. Hinata blushed at the contact, but she smiled. Naruto chuckled, then leaned down and kissed her. Hinata, surprised, couldn't do anything but return the kiss. After what felt like forever but was still way too short a time, the two broke apart and smiled at one another. Hinata took Naruto's hand in hers gently. "Come on, Lord Hokage," she said teasingly. "We must get you back to your village."

The two returned to the village, their hands linked, both smiling contently. It was the end of a journey and the beginning of a long life together, and neither had ever been happier.


End file.
